Article removal alarm device



July 6, 1954 w. P. LAVELLE 2,683,260

ARTICLE REMOVAL ALARM DEVICE Filed April 1, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l P 5, 8 J (R w 25 2 t t v 2 Eli/en 011 William Plaz/Zle y 5, 1954 w. P. LAVELLE 2,683,260

ARTICLE REMOVAL ALARM DEVICE Filed April l, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 6, 1954 UNIT-ED V STATES PATENT OFFICE f i I I 2,683,260 ARTICLE REMOVAL ALARM. DEVICE William P. Lavelle, Chicago, 111.

Application April 1, 1952, Serial No. 279,840

This invention relates to improvements in a suspending support for sounding an alarm when the article suspended upon the support is removed therefrom by one unauthorized to do so. 1 The present invention is particularly suitable for use in suspending articles such as fire extinguishers which by their very nature must be readily removable from their supports. By municipallaws and ordinances fire extinguishers are required to be available in buildings, dwellings and the like. By virtue of their intended use the fire extinguishers must be freely portable, that is, they must be freely removable from their supports and must be unrestrained so that operators may readily carry the extinguishers to a point of use. The usual fire extinguisher is a relatively expensive piece of equipment and, hence, it 'ofiers a temptation to those j inclined to steal the same because of the ease with which they can be taken. V I

The present invention is directed to a combination suspending support and alarm which produces an audible signal when thesuspended article is removed from the support the signal being useful in one of two ways; one, to warn others that a fire exists, if a fire extinguisher is the suspended article, and if the extinguisher is removed for a bona fide purpose, and, two, to indicate that the suspended device is being re moved, and if being removed byone unauthorized to do so, to permit taking steps to apprehend the thief.

One of the important'features of thepresent invention .resides in the compactness of the device whereby all of they elements thereof, includinga. local source of electric current, may bedisposed in av smallconfine, for instance, .a box, such as the conventional electric junction box commonly employed in building and house wiring. The box may be mounted in a recess provided in a wall and may be closedby a small cover plate which may be flush with the wall.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the provision of aswingable cam lever which is subjected to only a minor portion of the pressure produced by the weight of the suspended article, the major portion of such weight being supported by a rigid hook carried by the box closure plate.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and following detailed description.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of my device carried in a wall recess, the device supporting a conventional fire extinguisher.

Claims. (01. 340 280) 2 a Fig. 2 is a front view of the device as viewed in its position in a wall. 1

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of elements ofthe device with thecover removed from the con-,- taining box. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-"| of Fig. 2. J

;Fig.. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 ofFig.3.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line G-'8 ofFig. 3. Referring in detail to the drawing, l indicates a box comprising side walls 2, 2, end walls-3, 3 and a rear wall 4. The box I is preferably-con structed of metal and may resemble the usual electrical junction box. The end walls 3, 3'car ry integral lugs 5 which may each be provided with an aperture 6, said apertures beingadapted to carry screws 1 for fastening the "box in a re-' cess provided in a wall 8.. Lugs 5 mayv also be provided with threaded apertures 9 adapted" to receive screws l0 whereby a face plate I I may be secured over the open mouth of the box I, the face plate being substantially flush with the surface of the wall 8.

l A supporting bracket [2 may be secured-to the face plate I I by means of'rivets or other suitable securing means, said bracket'having a hookportion 13' which fiaresioutwardly in spaced relationship to the plane of the plate I l, as shown best at M in Figs. 4 and 5. In' use, the bracket -battery holder n is positi IZ'is adapted to support 'an article'such, for in.- stance, as a conventional fire extinguisher IS; the handle is of which may be looped-over thefiared end of the bracket-l2. r box I, said holder comprising a panel l8 which is securedy'by' any suitable means, such-as, by weld-'- in'g; "tothe inner face of the rear wall 4, said panel being substantially centrally disposed'upon said rear wall; A flange 19 extends at an angle to theplane of panel H3 at a lateral edge'of-said panel, and a similar flange 20 is disposed atlthe opposite'edg'e of thepanel; The flanges l9 and 20 are substantially equal in length, but are on set with respect to each other along the length of'thepanelll." r

'At each end of the flange l9, an'arm 2land zzrespectively'extends at an angle to the plane of' the flange, the armsbeing substantially parallel to each other. "A spring finger 23 and 24, re spectively is" carried by each arm 2| and 22, said fingersbeing insulated from said'arm by insulating washers '25. A dry cell 26, of the usual flash" light type, is carried between the respective arms, the fiiigers" zs'anaz'a respectively making elec- 3 trical contact with the opposite poles of the battery. As illustrated, the finger 23 makes contact with the positive pole of the battery 26, but the battery may be reversed if desired without departing from the concepts of the invenion.

A pair of arms 21 and 28 respectively extend angularly from opposite ends of flange 20, said arms being substantially parallel to each other. A spring finger 29 is carried by arm 21 and is electrically insulated from said arm by means of insulating washer 30. A spring finger 3| is carried by arm 28 but said finger is electrically grounded upon said arm. A battery 32 151 051 tioned between arms 21 and 28 and, as illustrated, the negative pole of the battery makes contact with the spring finger 29 and the positive pole of said battery makes contact with the grounded spring finger 3|. A jumper wire 33 connects spring finger 23 and spring finger 23 and hence batteries 26 and 32 are connected in series, the spring finger 24 comprising the ungrounded :side of the series connected batteries and the spring finger 3| comprising the grounded side thereof. of course, the polarity of the batteries may be reversed, that is the negative pole of the series :connected batteries may be grounded and the positive pole thereof may be ungrounded.

A key operated switch 34 may be positioned upon the face plate I I, said switch being of conventional construction and being operated by a suitablekey which may beoperatively inserted in the key slot 35. One side of said switch 34 may be connected to ground and the opposite side thereof may be connected to a conventional microswitch 36. The :microswitch 36 may be mounted upon a bracket 31 which in turn may be secured to the inner face of a :side wall 2. The microswitch 36 carries-an operating button 38 and the switch is of the normally closed type, that is, when thebut- 011 33 is .in itsextended position, its normal position, the switch .36 is closed.

A lug 39 is mounted upon the rear face of the face plate 1H and a cam lever 40 is pivotally secured to said lug- The face plate H is provided with a slot 4| and bracket I2, is provided withra-communicating slot 42. As will be hereinafter more fully described, cam lever 40 extends through :slots 4| and 42 and the inclined portion of saidi lever is normally positioned within the confines of the hook portion 13 of bracket 12.. The opposite side of the cam lever 41! is in contact with the end of button 38.-

The' arrangement is such that when handle IE or the equivalent suspending element of an article to be supported-upon the bracket |2'is posi- .tioned within the hook portion |3 of said bracket, said handle is seeking its position of rest at the lower portion of zthe bracket contacts the extending portion of the cam lever 40 and rocks said lever in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs-.4 and 5. In so rocking the lever 40 the button :38 of the switch 36 is depressed-"and the switch 'is consequently opened. Inasmuch as switch 36 is a normally closed switch and that the button 38 is normally in its extended position, if the handle IE or other equivalent element which is carried by the bracket I2 is removed from the hook portion of the bracket, the button 38 tends to return to its normal extended position and with the handle l6 removed from the bracket the cam lever 40 moves outwardly and permits switch 36 to close. audible signalling device 4| is also adapted to be carried within the box The audible signal employed in the form of my invention illustrated comprises an electric horn but it is to be understood that any type of audible electric signal may be used. The horn 4| has a rearwardly extending conical portion 42 and a U-shaped bracket 43 is mounted upon the rearwardmost portion of the frustro-conical member 42. A resilient bracket 44 is secured to panel l1 and carries a U-shaped portion 45, the arrangement being such that the free end of the U-shaped member 43 may frictionally engage the resilient u-shaped portion 45 whereby the horn 4| is removably positioned within the box As has been hereinbefore described, one side .of the switch 36 is connected to one side of the key operated switch 34. The opposite side of the switch 36 connects with one of the terminals (not shown) of the horn 4|. The opposite terminal of the horn 4| connects with the ung-rounded finger 24 comprising the ungrounded end of the series connected batteries. In this fashion when switches 34 and '33 are closed the horn 4| is connected across the series connected batteries.

It can readily be seen that when in operation the key operated switch may be closed by appropriately manipulating said switch with a key which may be retained, for instance, by the custodian of a building in which the fire extinguisher may be positioned. With the fire extinguisher positioned upon the bracket l2, the lever 10 will be rocked so as to open switch 36 and hence even though switch 34 may be closed no signal will be produced. This is the normal position of the device. If for some reason or other the fire extinguisher is removed from the bracket |'2 either for an authorized or an unauthorized purpose then, removal of the handle l6 will permit the button 33 to project outwardly and hence switch for an authorized purpose, the signal will function as a warning to inhabitants of the building that a fire has been discovered. If the removal of the fire extinguisher has been for an unauthorized purpose. the signal will advise the cus todian, for instance that the fire extinguisher hasbeen removed from its support.

Although my invention has been shown and described in conjunction with the supporting of a fire extinguisher it is to be understood that it can beused for many other purposes, for instance, valuable paintings may be protected in this fashion wherein the unauthorized removal thereof from the support will give a signal to that effect.

One of the important features of my invention resides in the fact that the device is substantially selficontained and occupies a relatively small space and may be housed in a box somewhat similar to the usual electrical junction box used in the walls of buildings. A further important feature of the invention resides in the shape of the cam lever 43 whereby said lever be rocked to operate switch 36 by a suspending element such as the handle l6 and-yet the pressure exerted by the suspended article upon the lever will be relatively minor, substantially the entire weight of the suspended article being sustained by the bracket I2.

I claim as my invention:

1. An alarm comprising in combination, closed container having defining wa1ls,..one of said defining walls being provided with a plurality of apertures, a bracket extending from the outer face of one of said walls for supporting the suspending element of an article to be carried by said bracket, a cam lever swingably mounted upon the opposite face of said one wall, a portion of said lever extending through an opening in said one wall and being disposed adjacent said bracket, a normally closed switch positioned within said container, said cam lever being moved by the suspending element carried by said bracket to rock said lever and actuate said switch when the suspending element is carried by said bracket, an electrically actuated audible signal device carried in saidcontainer, and a source of electric current carried in said container and connected to said signal device through said switch, whereby removal of said suspending element permits return of said switch to its normally closed position to actuate said audible signal device.

2. An alarm comprising in combination, a closed container adapted to be carried by a support, a perforated closure plate for said container, a hook carried on the outer face of said plate for supporting the suspending element of an article to be carried by said hook, a cam lever swingably mounted upon the inner face of said plate, a portion of said cam lever protruding through an opening in said plate and being disposed laterally within the confines of said hook whereby the suspending element carried by said hook laterally contacts said lever and swings the same inwardly of said container, a spring closed switch positioned in said container and being opened by inward lateral displacement of said lever, a source of current in said container, an electrically actuated audible signal device positioned in said container, said signal device being connected through said switch to the source of current whereby removal of said suspending element from said hook causes closing of said switch to actuate said audible signal device.

3. An alarm comprising in combination, a closed container adapted to be carried in a wall, a sound permeable closure plate for said container, a bracket carried on the outer face of said plate, said bracket having a hook portion for supporting the suspending element of an article to be carried by said bracket, a cam lever swingably mounted upon the inner face of said plate, a portion of the cam lever protruding through an opening and said plate beyond the outer face of said plate and adjacent said bracket, said lever and said hook portion defining a wedge-shaped space adapted for the reception of said suspending element whereby said cam lever is swung inwardly of said container, a switch spring biased to normally closed position disposed within said container adjacent said cam lever, whereby inward movement of said cam lever opens said switch when said suspending element is supported by the hook portion of the bracket, a source of electric current carried within said container and an electrically actuated audible signal device disposed within said container and connected through said switch to the source of current.

4. An alarm comprising in combination, a container adapted to be embedded in a wall, a perforated closure plate for said container adapted to be disposed substantially flush with the wall surface, a hook carried on the outer face of said plate for supporting the suspending element of an article to be carried by said hook, a cam lever swingably mounted upon the inner face of said plate, a portion of said cam lever protruding through an opening in said plate and being disposed laterally within the confines of said hook whereby the suspending element carried by said hook laterally contacts said lever and swings the same inwardly of said container, a spring closed switch positioned in said container and being opened by inward lateral displacement of said lever, a battery in said container, an electrically actuated audible signal device positioned in said container, said signal device being connected through said switch to the batteryrwhereby removal of said suspending element from said hook causes closing of said switch to actuate said audible signal device.

5. A self-contained alarm comprising in combination, a closed container adapted to be carried by a support, a closure plate for said container, a hook carried on the outer face of said plate for supporting the suspending element of an article to be carried by said hook, a cam lever swingably mounted upon the inner face of said plate, a portion of said cam lever protruding through an opening in said plate and being disposed laterally within the confines of said hook whereby the suspending element carried by said hook laterally contacts said lever and swings the same inwardly of said container, a spring closed switch positioned in said container and being opened by inward lateral displacement of said lever, a source of current in said container, an electrically actuated audible signal device positioned in said container, said signal device being connected through said switch to the source of current whereby removal of said suspending element from said hook causes closing of said switch to actuate said audible signal device, and a key operated switch carried by said plate and connected in circuit with said signal device to control the actuation of said signal device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

